<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Proposal by eleanor_raines</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416741">The Proposal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleanor_raines/pseuds/eleanor_raines'>eleanor_raines</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bloodbound (Visual Novels)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bloodbound Book 3, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, Play Choices - Freeform, Romance, Visual Novel, bloodbound, proposal fic, romantic, vampire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:13:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,753</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleanor_raines/pseuds/eleanor_raines</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Adrian Raines proposes marriage.<br/>Word Count: 2770</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrian Raines/Main Character (Bloodbound)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Proposal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adrian sat in his office late on a Monday night. He had a pile of paperwork to sift through and a mountain of contracts and reports to review laid out before him on his desk. He was doing his best to concentrate but no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept drifting back to the night before. </p><p>
  <em>Kamilah had invited Adrian out to dinner to discuss an upcoming partnership project between Raines Corp and Ahmanet Financial. They sipped wine as they talked shop. As they finished the second bottle between them, Kamilah suddenly took the conversation in a new direction.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“So, when are you going to propose?” she asked plainly. Adrian nearly choked on his wine.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I beg your pardon,” he sputtered out.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Kamilah looked at him knowingly, somewhat exasperated by his feigned ignorance.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’ve had that ring for nearly a year now. Why haven’t you done it yet? What’s stopping you?”</em>
</p><p>Since then, Adrian was unable to think of anything other than why he hadn’t proposed to Agnes yet. It was everything he wanted. The thought of being Agnes’s fiancee, and then her husband, was exhilarating and filled him with a new kind of hope. He was impatient for it, but also felt paralyzed by it. </p><p>Abandoning his work, he dropped his pen on his desk and raked his fingers through his hair. He leaned over and opened the bottom left drawer of his desk and pressed the small lever in the corner. A secret compartment popped open. There was only one item inside. The velvet box that housed the Cartier engagement ring he had bought for Agnes in Paris. For weeks, nearly months now, it had been taunting him from its concealed place in the hidden compartment of his office drawer.</p><p>He picked it up and opened the box, looking contemplatively at the platinum band delicately cradling a 2 karat oval cut diamond. He couldn’t count the number of nights he had spent staring at the ring, thinking of all that had happened between the time he purchased the ring and now, and how desperately he wanted to slide it on her finger and be bound to her in love forever. </p><p>After what happened at the opera house, Adrian had been careful not to rush Agnes in any way. Her emotions were fragile and she needed someone to comfort her. He didn’t want to complicate the arduous journey ahead of her by suddenly asking her to marry him, so he waited.</p><p>But nearly a year had passed since that night at the opera house, and Adrian was growing more and more eager with each passing day. With his eagerness came an unshakable anxiety. As he looked at the ring and all the joy it would bring, it was also a reminder of all the way in which he had failed her since that night in Paris. </p><p>The proposal had to be perfect. She deserved nothing less and he would give her no less. His heart jumped to his throat at the thought. What if he couldn’t do it. The thought of disappointing her petrified him, especially on what he hoped to be one of the happiest nights of her life.</p><p>The proposal didn’t just have to be perfect, he realized. It had to be perfect for Agnes.</p><p>She had always been a woman of simple tastes, and living the lifestyle of the girlfriend of a billionaire CEO had done little to change that.</p><p>When deciding where to go for dinner, Agnes would always prefer a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria over the finest 4 star restaurant. She wanted to spend her weekends watching movies with Adrian, ordering food in, and snuggling on the couch. If he suggested a weekend getaway to London or Tokyo, she would decline, pull him back down on the couch, and insist he was the only getaway she needed. </p><p>Admittedly, Adrian had been perfectly content to adapt to her lifestyle. Rather than spending his spare time working, burying himself in reports and contracts, stressing over the happenings of the vampire world he found himself rushing home at the end of each work day. His world lit up the moment he would walk into the penthouse and she would rush into his arms to welcome him home with a kiss. </p><p>However he was going to propose, it had to be for Agnes as she truly was.</p><p>Paris had been his first idea. When he thought of Paris, he no longer thought of the beauty and romance. He could only think of how he pushed Agnes away that night on the Love Bridge. If he was honest with himself, he wanted to rewrite that part of their history and turn a place of painful memories into what it was meant to be all along.</p><p>But the more he thought about it, he realized that whisking her away to Paris for a surprise proposal wasn’t Agnes. It would be far too extravagant, and she would certainly chide him for flying halfway across the world to ask her a question he could’ve asked her in New York. </p><p>Paris wasn’t it.</p><p>Adrian had also considered a number of other grand gestures and romantic cliches. He briefly considered renting out screen space in Times Square, a neon announcement of his undying love for her for the entire city to see. But that idea was quickly abandoned. Her idea of romance was snuggling on the couch, frantic kisses transforming into screams of ecstasy, and falling asleep in his arms. </p><p>His love for Agnes was profound and intimate, as was her love for him. This proposal was not for the world, but only for them. And for her. </p><p>Adrian held the ring box tight in his fist, his frustrating building. He was ready to begin this new life with her, as her husband and partner in life and in everything. The confidence of his feelings towards Agnes had never wavered. From the day Adrian hired her, he was never uncertain of her presence in his life. </p><p>And then it hit him.</p><p>Adrian suddenly sat up straight in his chair, an epiphany striking him like lightning. He shoved the ring box in the pocket of his suit jacket and darted out of his office in a rush of excitement and determination.</p><p>__</p><p>
  <b>Two Nights Later</b>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Agnes spritzed herself with the Hermes perfume Adrian had bought her as a gift as she finished getting ready for her dinner with Adrian. He had been working a lot lately, and he seemed preoccupied with something, so she was happy that he was feeling up for going out and hopefully getting his mind off his troubles.</p><p>She slipped on a pair of sleek high heeled shoes, took one last look in the mirror, and headed out. </p><p>–</p><p>Adrian drummed his fingers anxiously on the varnished cherry wood of his desk. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the clock for at least an hour and it still wasn’t 10 o’clock. His nervousness from the night before had faded, and was replaced with an anticipation that made Adrian want to jump out of his skin.</p><p>He couldn’t stand not being engaged to Agnes.</p><p>After an agonizing 20 minutes, there was a soft knock on his door. His heart was pounding in his chest, his stomach fluttering as he called to her to come in. </p><p>He was trying to play it cool, acting nonchalant at her arrival. But Adrian’s jaw dropped when she stepped into his office. Her long dark hair was pulled up elegantly, with soft, loose tendrils framing her face. She was wearing the emerald green blouse she had worn the night he had almost ruined everything, and in a way, he felt as though this might be his chance at redemption for his actions that night.</p><p>“Time’s up, Mr. Raines,” Agnes said with a smirk as she strode into his office, “You are no longer allowed to work.”</p><p>Adrian stood up, smiling broadly, as she stepped into his open arms.</p><p>“Oh, no?” </p><p>“No, it’s Agnes time now,” she said, pressing a sweet kiss to the corner of his jaw, “And Agnes time means absolutely no work.”</p><p>“That explains a lot about your performance when you were my assistant,” he replied with a mischievous gleam in his eye. She pulled away and swatted his arm, an injured look on her face.</p><p>“How dare you? I was an amazing assistant!”</p><p>“Yes, yes you were the very best,” he said with a conciliatory tone, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, “Now, how about some dinner?”</p><p>Agnes nodded enthusiastically, and Adrian took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together tightly.</p><p>“Where to?” she asked, her eyes bright and loving. Adrian’s heart swelled at the sight. </p><p>“I thought we could go somewhere we haven’t been in a while” he said as they stepped into his private elevator. </p><p>Agnes’s eyes lit up with realization as he reached for the illuminated R button on the elevator panel. Within a few moments, they had reached the roof and stepped out into the recently renovated rooftop restaurant. </p><p>Soft jazz music lilted from the quartet that played on the elevated platform next to the bar, and the sounds of chatter and clinking silverware were carried away on the cool night wind. The inky black sky hung close above them but the restaurant was flooded with warm amber light and it seemed they were in a different world. </p><p>A gentle smile graced Agnes’s face as she took the scene in, squeezing Adrian’s hand tight. The maître d’ approached them and escorted them to their table. Moments later, the waiter came to take their order.</p><p>Adrian tried to bite back a smile as he turned to the waiter and ordered a bottle of the Chateau Latour Bordeaux. With a small bow, the waiter quickly scurried off to fetch their wine.</p><p>Agnes grinned, “You know you don’t have to impress me with your fancy wine anymore?”</p><p>Adrian’s eyes smoldered as he replied, “I do, but I also happen to remember how much a certain person enjoyed that wine. And how much I enjoyed watching them enjoy it.”</p><p>Agnes bit her lip, her cheeks blushing an enticing shade of pink as she tried to hide a bashful smile. Adrian remembered every vivid detail of the dinner they shared that night. How surprised he was by her boldness and honesty, how taken in he was by her vivacity and wit, and how, more than anything, he wanted to kiss her. </p><p>The waiter returned with the wine and took their orders, and the rest of the meal passed like a blur. Conversation between him and Agnes had always been easy. It was one of the things he noticed that first night, and something that remained between them to this day. Adrian was still in some ways unfamiliar with the idea of safety and security, but from the day he met her, he knew that he could place his trust in her and she had never betrayed that. </p><p>Minutes passed to hours and bottles of exorbitantly expensive bottles of wine began to accumulate on their table. The restaurant slowly began to clear out, the humans returning home to get their required rest for the night, until only Agnes and Adrian remained. </p><p>They sat in companionable silence for a moment. Agnes’s cheeks were flushed, and she looked radiant as she gazed lovingly into Adrian’s eyes from across the table. She didn’t know, but that look was his undoing. </p><p>Agnes stood up and offered her hand to Adrian. He took it without question and she led him to the balcony overlooking the New York City skyline. Adrian wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She nestled her head against his shoulder, taking in the sparkling lights of the city around them.</p><p>“What else do you remember about that night?” Adrian asked.</p><p>“You mean our first dinner here?” </p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Agnes thought for a moment, snaking her arms around Adrian’s torso, nuzzling into his chest as she embraced him.</p><p>“I remember we both ordered the steak,” she said, a pleasant smile spreading across her face as she leaned into him, “And I remember feeling happy when you said it was your favorite thing on the menu. Like, somehow we already shared a connection. It’s silly, but–”</p><p>Adrian quickly interrupted her, “I felt the same way.”</p><p>Agnes pulled back to look at him, her eyes shining. Adrian brought his hand up to gently cradle her face, stroking her cheek tenderly with this thumb.</p><p>“What else do you remember?”</p><p>“For some reason, I kept oversharing with you. I wanted to tell you everything about myself,” Agnes replied. She began to chuckle, lowering her eyes to the floor in embarrassment, “I think I even said I found your optimism sexy.”</p><p>“I … am not supposed to say I remember that,” Adrian replied, lifting her chin to look up at him, as he broke into adoring a smile. </p><p>Agnes laughed heartily at his response, her bashfulness vanishing. </p><p>“I appreciate that. But tell me, what do you remember about that night? I’ve told you what I remember, but I’m sure you had a different take on the evening.”</p><p>Adrian was pensive for a moment. Truly, there wasn’t anything he didn’t remember about that night. It had been etched into his memory and would remain for the rest of his life.</p><p>“There isn’t anything I don’t remember,” he said at last, feeling emboldened by his mission, “I remember everything. The way your hair fell over your shoulders, the color of your cheeks when you let slip that you found me sexy, the warmth of your body as you leaned in to kiss me.”</p><p>He stepped back from their embrace and took her hands in his, hoping she couldn’t feel them trembling. She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with love.</p><p>“I remember thinking that my life was going to change,” he continued, “I felt something in my heart that I hadn’t felt in … I couldn’t even tell you how long.”</p><p>As he looked into her eyes, he felt unshakable conviction and he inhaled deeply, bracing himself for what would be the beginning of a life he never thought possible.</p><p>“I remember thinking that my life was beginning anew that day. And I was right, Agnes, you’ve changed me and my world.”</p><p>Adrian pulled his hand away and reached into his pocket. He could see the realization dawn in her eyes as he slowly lowered himself to one knee before her. He heard her breath quicken.</p><p>“Agnes, if you’d let me, I’d like to start a new life on this roof again. A life with you, bound together forever.”</p><p>Adrian presented her the box and clicked it open, the diamond gleaming in the moonlight. </p><p>“Agnes, will you marry me?” </p><p>There was a moment where it felt as though time stood still  before Agnes reached down, grabbing Adrian by the lapels of his jacket and hauling him back up to his feet. Her hands still fisted in his shirt, she pulled him to her, their lips crashing together. </p><p>“Yes, Adrian,” she murmured happily against his lips between frenzied kisses, “Yes, I will.”</p><p>Adrian’s heart was soaring. He held Agnes close as their mouths connected, her soft lips and sweet touches making his knees weak. He didn’t deserve this much happiness, this much love. But he would never deny Agnes what she wanted. And what she wanted was him. </p><p>He broke away, breathless from their kiss, and took her hand in his to slide the elegantly delicate ring onto her finger. It looked perfect on her, and they couldn’t help but take a few moments to admire how at home the ring looked on her hand.</p><p>“I am yours, Agnes. All that I am and all that I have is yours,” he whispered, pressing his forehead gently against hers, cradling her face in his hands.</p><p>She pressed a soft, yearning kiss to his lips. </p><p>“That’s a beautiful promise, but the only thing I really want is something that all your billions could never buy,” she said, her eyes sparkling with mirth.</p><p>“And what’s that?” Adrian replied, followed by a tender kiss to her forehead.</p><p>She looked at him for a moment with a gaze that spoke only of undying love and delirious happiness, with a smile that made his knees weak.</p><p>“Our eternity.”</p><p>At her words, Adrian swept Agnes into his arms, kissing her fiercely. </p><p>There was nothing he wanted more. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>**Characters, plot, &amp; dialogue are property of Pixelberry. I’m just having some fun.**</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>